1965 Chevy C10 - Buyer Beware

Finding honest mechanics and or bodymen can be like trying to find a virgin in a maternity ward. Sometimes we hear through the grapevine about someone who is supposed to be the cat's pajamas at customizing, painting, engine building, and the like, only to invest a lot of money to discover that those references were questionable at best. Then what's your recourse? Sometimes it's court, but more often than not it's sucking it up and starting over.

Rust is pretty much unavoidable when you buy an unrestored classic truck. When Phil Keene bought this '65 C10 as a work truck, he knew that metalwork was in his future, so he had to find himself someone reputable who'd help breathe new life into its less-than-pristine body. He was referred to someone who was supposed to be quite the "Ferrari aluminum artist." After patch panels for the usual rusty areas were purchased and said "artist" performed his services, Phil was pretty satisfied with the results…that is until he decided to do a full teardown and rebuild, and discovered the hard way about who you can really trust.

After meeting Edgar Hernandez and Jack Fields, owners of Starlite Rod and Kustom in Torrance, California, Phil decided to entrust the restoration to their long list of top-notch builds. After the truck came back from sandblasting, Phil learned that his previous bodyman was more of a magician than an artist. Instead of cutting out the rusted areas, and grafting in the patch panels, Phil learned the panels were welded over the affected areas and bondo had been used to disguise the hack job. Beneath a coat of paint you'd never know that there was no way to restore the body. Off to find donor parts Phil went. The only thing stock that remains from the original body is the top half of the bed.

Now that the truck was finally in good hands, its new iteration would no longer be just a façade. The frame was C-notched and boxed in the rear, and a CPP custom crossmember installed. The CPP five-lug axles with 4-inch lowering blocks in the back and 2-inch drop spindles in the front keep those 17-inch American Racing Torq-Thrusts put to the pavement. A CPP 18-gallon aluminum fuel tank was mounted between the rear framerails.

5/10

The guys at Starlite filled all the seams and pockets, shaved the body, smoothed the bed, and flipped over and tucked in the rear bumper. The truck now has a big-window conversion kit that Phil found on eBay and sports single-pane side glass with crank handle electric actuators. The custom five-bar grille and Lokar taillights complete the sharp, crisp look of the exterior. With all that DuPont Chomra I custom red paint shot by Jack Fields, you wouldn't think this truck's body had been out of shape a day in its life.

Under the hood, you'll find a United Racing Engines' 508hp Dart 434ci small-block with aluminum heads, a Comp roller cam, Keith Black pistons, and a Billet Specialties Tru Track serpentine belt system. A Holley 850 sits on an Edelbrock Super Victor manifold, and Hedman ceramic headers funnel everything through 2½-inch pipes and Borla mufflers. A Mattson custom radiator with dual electric fans keeps it all cool. The hoses for the Vintage Air heat and A/C are plumbed under the fenderwell to keep everything looking clean. A 700-R4 turns all those ponies to a 3.78-geared 12-bolt Posi rearend.

Inside, the dash was smoothed, but retains its stock configuration. A Haneline cluster with Teleflex gauges monitor the vitals with a Lokar shifter keeping the truck in gear. The stock seat and door panels were reupholstered in leather and tweed by Chuy's Auto Interiors in Carson, California. A Colorado Custom banjo steering wheel atop a CCP chrome tilt column keeps Phil in control of a truck that a lot of other guys may have considered terminally ill at one point.

9/10

Just goes to show you that sometimes reputation is only hearsay when you're looking for someone to rebuild your beauty. Do your homework, take your time, and don't accept anything less than iron-clad proof before you bust out your checkbook to take it a step further.

Hard to believe at first blush that this truck had been butchered nearly beyond rehabilitation.